Improvements in and relating to corrugated cardboard supports

ABSTRACT

A corrugated support in the form of a double-blind box ( 10 ) comprising two substantially parallel opposing main body panels ( 18, 20 ) and two pairs of opposing side walls (X, Y) wherein each of one pair of opposing side walls (X) are formed from at least two interlocking parts ( 11, 22, 14, 25 ) to enable the support to be moveable from a collapsed state to an erect state. The support is formed from a blank.

The present invention relates to improvements in corrugated cardboardsupports, particularly corrugated cardboard boxes.

Supports for displaying consumer goods in, for example, supermarkets areknown in the art. However, such supports are normally comprised of asolid material to impart the necessary strength to the support. Thisresults in the support occupying valuable space when not in use.

Packing materials for the support and protection of an article that ispackaged within a box are also known. Generally, a polystyrene mouldwill be used that fits snugly around the article within the box.However, there is growing concern about the use of polystyrene andhence, it is desirable to provide an alternative packing support.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a blank for theconstruction of a support, in particular a corrugated cardboard box.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improvedcorrugated cardboard support, particularly but not exclusively acorrugated cardboard box, that aims to overcome, or at least alleviatethe abovementioned drawbacks.

Accordingly, a first aspect of the present invention provides acorrugated cardboard blank for the construction of a support, the blankcomprising two main body forming panels, a middle panel between saidbody forming panels and at least one end flap, each main body formingpanel and middle panel having opposing side flaps, each side flap of themain body panels being provided with an indent.

It is to be appreciated that a support is assembled from the blank byfolding the appropriate parts of the blank and securing them togetherusing suitable means, most preferably an adhesive. The side flaps of themain panels are secured to the side flaps of the middle panel and theend flap is folded over and secured to the main panel. However, the sideflaps of the main body panels are not secured to each other.

The provision of an indent in each side flap of each main body formingpanel enables a side flap of one main body panel to engage with theadjacent side flap of the other main body panel when the blank isassembled to form an erect box, thereby forming a double blind box.Prior to engagement of the flaps, the box is in a flattened state. Thisenables the blank to be assembled into a box that may take on acollapsed or an erect state.

Opposing side flaps of each main body panel are preferably a mirrorimage of one another. Adjacent side flaps of adjacent main body panelsare preferably identical.

Preferably, an end flap is provided at the end of each main body formingpanel. More preferably, one of the end flaps is also provided with sideflaps. A tab is preferably provided on each of the side flaps of themain body panels for attachment to the side flaps of the end flap andmiddle panel in the constructed box.

Each tab is preferably provided at the remote end of the indented regionof each side flap. Preferably, a line of weakness is provided betweeneach tab and its adjoining side flap.

Each side flap of the main body forming panels, middle panel and/or endflap is preferably provided with one corner that forms substantially aright angle and an opposing corner which is truncated. Each tab providedon the side flaps of the main body forming panels preferably extendsfrom the truncated end of the side flap.

It is preferable for fluting to be formed in the longitudinal directionof the blank, i.e. from one end flap to the other since this increasesthe strength of the box formed from the blank.

A second aspect of the present invention provides a corrugated cardboardsupport comprising two substantially parallel opposing main body panelsand two pairs of opposing side walls wherein each of one pair ofopposing side walls are formed from at least two interlocking parts.

The provision of a pair of opposing side walls that are each comprisedof two interlocking parts enables the assembled support to be moveablefrom a collapsed state to an erect state. In the collapsed or flattenedstate, two parts of each wall are disengaged to allow each part to lieflat against its connecting wall or panel. In the erect state, the twoparts of each wall become interlocked and lie substantiallyperpendicularly to their connecting wall or panel.

It is to be appreciated that the blank according to the first aspect ofthe present invention is preferably used in forming a support accordingto the second aspect of the present invention. Additionally, the mainpanels and walls of the support may be any desired size.

A varnish may be applied to the supports to impart water resistance.

For a better understanding of the present invention and to show moreclearly how it may be carried into effect reference will now be made, byway of example only, to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank for a double-blind box according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an erect double-blind box according tothe present invention assembled from the blank shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a double-blind box shown in FIG. 2,shown in its collapsed form.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, a plan view of a blank2 for the construction of a double-blind box according to one embodimentof the present invention is illustrated. The blank is cut from a sheetof corrugated cardboard and creases are inserted into the blank toprovide fold lines, represented by broken lines in FIG. 1. Heavy dottedlines denote reverse fold lines. The blank has two main body formingpanels 18, 20 connected by a middle section 19. The two main bodyforming panels 18, 20 are provided with end sections 17, 21 respectivelyopposite said middle section 19. Each main body panel has side flaps 11,22, 14, 25 extending from each side thereof, each side flap having anindent I. One end of each flap is straight and the other opposing endnearest the indent is oblique. Each oblique end is provided with a tab12, 23, 15, 26. The middle section 19 is also provided with side flaps13, 24, one end being straight and the other being oblique. Similar sideflaps 16, 27 are provided extending from one end section 21 but theopposing end section 17 is free from flaps.

The blank may be assembled to form a box 10 comprising two substantiallyparallel opposing main body panels (18, 20) and two pairs of opposingside walls (X, Y) wherein each of one pair of the opposing side walls(Y) are formed from two interconnecting parts (11, 14 and 22, 25) toenable the support to be moveable from a collapsed state to an erectstate, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

To form the box 10, side flaps 11, 22 are folded flat on to the mainbody forming panel 18 and the tabs 12, 23 are folded back to lie againstthe side flaps. Glue is then applied to the tabs 12, 23. The side flaps12, 24 are then folded against the middle section 19. The main bodyforming panel 18 is then folded against the middle section 19 so thatthe tabs 12, 23 adhere to their adjacent side flap 23, 24. Side flaps14, 25 are then folded on to the other main body forming panel 20 andthe tabs 15, 26 are folded back to lie against the side flaps 14, 25.Glue is then applied to these tabs and the side flaps 16, 27 are foldedflat against the end section 21. The end section 21 is now foldedagainst the main body forming panel 20 so that the side flaps 16, 27adhere to their adjacent tab 15, 26 respectively. Finally, glue isapplied to the opposing end section 17 which is placed over to stick tothe outer surface of the other end section 21 to form an assembled box10, as shown in FIG. 2. The construction of the box from a blank may beachieved using multi-point machine gluers at high speed.

As mentioned above, the construction of the box 10 is such that it maybe provided in a collapsed form (FIG. 3) or an erect form (FIG. 2).Assembly of the box into its collapsed form requires the side flaps 11,14, 22, 25 of the main body forming panels to be pressed inwardly suchthat they lie against their respective panel. Pushing inwardly the outersurface of the collapsed box, in particular the middle section 19 andend section 17, forces the side flaps away from their panel and theflaps lock together by means of the indent I. This forms a double blindbox that is extremely difficult to re-collapse.

It has been found that the provision of fluting in the longitudinaldirection C, shown in FIG. 1, provides for a much stronger box thusenabling the box to support greater weights. This is opposite to thedirection of fluting provided in conventional corrugated cardboardboxes.

The direction of fluting and the provision of two blind ends in the boxresults in the erected box being inherently strong. Prior hereto one endof a box would be openable to enable items to be placed within the box.The box according to the present invention may be used as a support, forexample acting as a display shelf to support goods that are for sale.The box has advantages over the prior art supports, such as its abilityto be transported and stored flat until required and its ability to berecycled. It is also made of cheap materials. A preferred applicationfor a box according to the present invention is the construction of apallet wherein a plurality of boxes are adhered to a top and bottomsheet to provide a pallet that is moveable from a collapsed to an erectstate, as described in the Applicant's co-pending application. Anyrequired size of pallet may be provided and the larger the pallet,generally the more boxes that will be used in its construction.

1. A corrugated cardboard blank for construction of a support, thesupport comprising two main body forming panels, a middle panel betweensaid body forming panels and an end flap provided at one end of eachbody forming panel, each main body forming panel and middle panel havingopposing side flaps and each side flap of the main body forming panelsbeing provided with an indent characterized in that each end flap has alength substantially the same as the length of the middle panel.
 2. Acorrugated cardboard blank as claimed in claim 1 wherein opposing sideflaps of each main body forming panel are a mirror image of one another.3. A corrugated cardboard blank as claimed in claim 2 wherein adjacentside flaps of adjacent main body panels are identical.
 4. A corrugatedcardboard blank as claimed in claim 3 wherein one of the end flaps isprovided with side flaps.
 5. A corrugated cardboard blank as claimed inclaim 4 wherein a tab is provided on each of the side flaps of the mainbody forming panels.
 6. A corrugated cardboard blank as claimed in claim5 wherein each tab is provided at the remote end of the indented regionof each side flap.
 7. A corrugated cardboard blank as claimed in claim 6wherein a line of weakness is provided between each tab and itsadjoining side flap.
 8. A corrugated cardboard blank as claimed in claim7 wherein each side flap of the main body forming panels, middle paneland/or end flap is provided with one corner that forms substantially aright angle and an opposing corner which is truncated.
 9. A corrugatedcardboard blank as claimed in claim 8 wherein each tab provided on theside flaps of the main body forming panels extends from the truncatedend of the side flap.
 10. A corrugated cardboard blank as claimed inclaim 9 wherein fluting is provided in the longitudinal direction of theblank, being from one end flap to the other.
 11. A corrugated cardboardsupport comprising two substantially parallel opposing main body panelsand two pairs of opposing side walls wherein each of one pair ofopposing side walls are formed from at least two interlocking parts,said interlocking parts enabling the support to be moveable from acollapsed state to an erect state characterized in that one of the otherpair of opposing side walls is formed from two end flaps provided at oneend of each main body panel, each end flap being substantially the samelength as its opposing side wall.
 12. A corrugated cardboard supportcomprising two substantially parallel opposing main body panels and twopairs of opposing side walls wherein each of one pair of opposing sidewalls are formed from at least two interlocking parts, said interlockingparts enabling the support to be moveable from a collapsed state to anerect state such that one of the other pair of opposing side walls isformed from two end flaps provided at one end of each main body panel,each end flap being substantially the same length as its opposing sidewall constructed from a blank according to claim 10 by folding theappropriate parts of the blank and securing them together by suitablemeans.
 13. A corrugated cardboard support as claimed in claim 12 whereinadhesive is used to secure the parts of the blank together.
 14. Acorrugated cardboard support as claimed in claim 12 wherein the sideflaps of the main panels are secured to the side flaps of the middlepanel, the end flap is folded over and secured to a main panel and theside flaps of the main body panels are not secured to each other.
 15. Acorrugated cardboard support as claimed in claim 14 wherein the sideflaps of the main panels are secured to the side flaps of the middlepanel and end flap by means of the tabs.